One problem faced by many arenas is the maintenance of proper ice conditions. The problem can be appreciated when thousands of people gather to watch, for example, a hockey game. The heat generated from such a gathering of people aids in the formation of wet slow ice. This produces a very slow skating surface, which is aggravating to the hockey players. It is desirable to have a harder, faster ice surface.
One patent that discloses an additive for treating water used to form ice is U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,360. This patent is primarily concerned with an additive that allows cool water to be used in resurfacing ice rinks. The additive comprises a surfactant, a silicone, and a primary alcohol. By using cool water--as opposed to hot water--during resurfacing, energy to heat and then cool the water is saved.
The present invention relates to a method of resurfacing an ice surface to reduce friction between the ice and an object gliding on the ice surface. The use of a composition derived from siloxane as the agent to reduce friction with the ice surface is disclosed. This results in a harder, faster ice surface.